The Adventure Continues

Here we are dressed in red, white and blue. I'm sure you see the flags on Vernon's shirt. I am wearing a red top under the white blouse, blue slacks and flag earrings. Can you see one of them? Memorial Day is tomorrow and we are so blessed to be living in the U. S. of A. Vernon served in the U.S. Air Force '69-'73. We aren't traveling anywhere this weekend, content to be at home and not on the highway or in an airport.

So what do I mean "The Adventure Continues"? When we learned in April that some kind of cancer was discovered when surgery was done to remove a growth on Vernon's right temple, we were told by a doctor at M.D. Anderson Cancer Center that the right side of Vernon's face should receive radiation in case it had spread. We were told it would start very soon.

Well, it hasn't started yet because the surgeon who discovered the cancer has not released him for it because the skin at the surgery site hasn't healed enough. Radiation will be hard on the skin there and it needs to be healed first. But we aren't complaining or anxious about this. In fact, this week we learned that it is good that radiation hasn't started.

One of the things we were told at M.D. Anderson is that his mouth needs to be as healthy as possible prior to radiation but with radiation starting right away, we didn't see time to get any work done. However, Vernon's regular six month dental exam was this past Wednesday. The dentist discovered two teeth needed to be removed prior to radiation starting and they were pulled Thursday morning. Now besides waiting a few more weeks for the skin to heal, his gum needs to heal, too. Vernon sure hated to lose the teeth but had no choice. The risk of those teeth getting infected during radiation was too high. Thank God, the extraction went well and he slept the rest of the day. He worked Friday and is doing well.

My guess is it could still be a month until radiation starts because during an exam on Tuesday, the surgeon found three places on Vernon's face to biopsy and that is to be done in his office June 9 (our 34th wedding anniversary).

My mother's first chemo treatment was Friday (in Oregon) and she was given anti-nausea medication first plus a relaxant. She and I prayed on the phone that morning that she would have no negative side effects. When I talked to her Saturday, she hadn't had any nausea (not a surprise) but also hadn't had any fever or swelling in her feet. I just called and learned that she is still free of those things, praise God.

In closing, here's a picture of Vernon playing his electric guitar in our family room, taken April 19. He enjoys it alot and is something he'd like to focus on when he retires.
I'm happy to have Monday off from work, the Memorial Day Holiday. I think we will see the movie Prince Caspian. I guess that is all for now. Thanks for checking in with us.